World News This Week in Prayer – Thursday, March 9, 2017

Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

Genesis 12:1-3, NRSV

Lord, just as you called Abram from his country, so you call us out of our places of comfort and into the places where we can be a blessing. And yet we cling to what is familiar: our own countries, our own kindred, and our own homes. We are afraid to follow your call into the unknown, even though you have promised to bless us. We fail to put our trust in you, in your vision for our future, and in the land that you will show us. You call us to place our trust in you, and to follow where you lead. Give us courage, O God,

So that in us all the families of the earth might be blessed.

Fear and ignorance continue to spread as world leaders turn their focus inward. The federal government in the US is preparing to implement a new executive order banning refugees and citizens of six majority-Muslim countries from entering the country. Tension between officials in North Korea and Malaysia are building in the wake of the assassination of Kim Jong-nam. Young people in Egypt responded with dismay as former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was acquitted of complicity in the deaths of 800 protestors in 2011. You call us to step out of our own concerns, and to hold our leaders accountable for their impact on our world. Give us wisdom, O God,

So that in us all the families of the earth might be blessed.

Millions of vulnerable people around the world continue to suffer due to natural disasters and climate instability. Torrential rains have caused the Limpopo River to burst its banks, resulting in floods and loss of crops in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Cyclone Enawo has left at least three dead and over 500 homeless in Madagascar. In Brazil, dozens of homes have been destroyed in a fire. In Somalia over 110 people died within forty-eight hours due severe drought conditions. With over 100,000 people facing starvation in South Sudan, the United Nations has declared a famine in the region. You call us to step out of our own concerns, and to use our resources to bring relief and aid to your beloved children. Give us compassion, O God,

So that in us all the families of the earth might be blessed.

Our news is filled with daily examples of hate, retribution, and senseless violence. In France, a family of four was murdered over an inheritance argument. A series of fatal shootings of individuals of Indian descent in South Carolina, US, points to an epidemic of racial hatred. In the largest military hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan more than thirty people were killed and dozens injured by Islamic State gunmen dressed as medics. Even as we celebrate International Women’s Day this week, police in Australia, have just rescued a woman who had been sexually and physically abused over the course of a two-month period, and statistics show that 70% of women around the world will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes. You call us to step out of our own concerns, and to treat all people with humanity and respect. Give us love, O God,

So that in us all the families of the earth might be blessed.

You call us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to advocate and fight for safety and security for all of your children around the world, O God. Give us courage. Give us wisdom. Give us compassion. Give us love. Empower us to be your hands and feet in the world, so that in us all the families of the earth might be blessed.

Gratitudes

December 28, 2013

In October, Pope Francis formally gave permission for Roman Catholic masses in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas to be celebrated in Tzotzil and Tzeltal, the two native languages that are the only languages spoken by 65% of the population – and Christmas masses were for the first time celebrated in those languages. For this […]